from one of our affiliates under cover. >> in 20 years i've never said this but i think it is time to go. >> we're leaving the radar image up but it's time for to us get to shelter now. ryan newton. now, ryan. let's go! >> one person is dead, two dozen are injured. people across the midwest are telling stories of just how close they game. >> no sooner had we gotten in the basement than we saw hard or heavy wind and heavy rain and after it subsided we came out and saw that we sustained quite an bit of damage. >> adding insult to injury, mother nature isn't quite done yet. there's a real risk severe storms will pummel the states' mid section. we go to the shawnee section of

oklahoma. t the aerials are incredible, janet. what are you seeing on the ground? >> this is the aftermath of a tornado. this is the bricker family. they've lived here 28 years. right now there is an unusual urgency to the clean-up because they know this community, this exact community is targeted once again late this afternoon. they've got friends and family here. they're making piles of trash and piles of things to save. have i to tell you the trash piles are a lot bigger. you look at what they're saving, it's pictures of their grandchildren, it's their wedding album, all soaked in mud and rain and it is heart breaking that they could face even more devastation. and as tornadoes go, the randomness. you know, this house was hit but a half a block behind them, there was a house untouched. you mention the death toll at just one. authorities attribute that to the early warning systems. not just the sirens that we heard yesterday in oklahoma

city, but the coverage, seeing these storm cloud form on live television encouraged people to get out. now, these folks did not have a storm cellar. but their neighbors on both sides did. the threat extends now all the way up to minneapolis. >> janet, thanks so much. there may be this other tornado outbreak later today. jen carfagno joins us now live. the this is going to be another whammy, insult to injury to this already hard hit area. >> this is our longest running severe outbreak this season. it started saturday. yesterday we had 28 reports. it's a very broad reaching storm system. so we have all the ingredients,

the same ones we had yesterday coming together again today. and in some of the same areas, kansas, oklahoma and actually the threat, as janet mentioned, extends today now through the midwest as well. we had nearly 500 reports yesterday, damaging winds, hail, tornadoes in nine states. today we're looking at a very large area as well from texas right through oklahoma and it looks likes from oklahoma right up into arkansas, mom, that corridor is probably most likely going to see tornadoes. we have our tor:con, which shows the risk. north arkansas is a 3 out of 10. today it extends right up through the midwest today, tomorrow as well. this threat continues not just for heavy rain, not just for storms but for heavy rain as well, which will be a concern. thomas, back to you. >> jen, we're going to let you get back to work. thanks so much. in just over two hours from now, the final phase of the jodi arias trial resumes.

jurors are deer sid deciding wh 32-year-old will spend the rest of her life in prison or die. she said i believe death is the ultimate freedom so i'd rather have my freedom sooner, as soon as i can get it. >> travis was our strength, our constant beacon of hope, our motivation. and his presence has been ripped from our lives. >> joining me now, diana alvear. we saw cheering outside the courtroom. that was the day arias was convicted. will's been a lot of time and space until this date, the penalty phase. what's the latest? >> thomas, i can tell you that things just got a little bit worse for jodi arias.

one of her friends that was set to testify on the stand today about her character has decided not to. we're expected to hear from an ex-boyfriend of hers, who already testified during the trial, darrell breuer. he'll be a character witness. and we made hear from arias. we're told we may hear about her artwork. it's believed she will get the death penalty. >> after hearing she wanted to die sooner rather than later, is there speculation or any word of what we expect her to say today? obviously the jurors have had an opportunity most likely they've heard what she had to say in that interview given the time and space between the penalty phase. >> well, you know, that's the interesting thing about it, thomas. they were supposed to stay away

from the media until this is over. it's very possible that some of them have not heard that interview. but if she gets on that stand and she talks about wanting to be spared the death penalty, for them to give her her life, it's very possible the prosecutor could decide to introduce into evidence that tv interview where she said she'd prefer death. it seems like it will be an interesting day ahead of us. we're all waiting to hear what she has to say. >> we want to turn to former prosecutor wendy murphy. what do you think about that? do you think that there isn't the possibility giving the arias jury that they have heard about that fox interview, that they have heard the words herself that she wants to die? >> it's possible. one of the jurors who was taken off of the jury toward the end of the trial said he paid attention to the judge's instruction and whenever news came on, he would change the channel. but i suppose if he's watching

television at all, you could see it accidentally because that particular clip has played so much, jodi claiming that she wants to die. now, if she does give a statement, she may not be subjected to cross-examination. if she testifies, that could be used against her. but, you know, she may well be manipulative enough and it wouldn't surprise me if she took the stand today and said i've said it before, i said it after the verdict, i'm going to say it given to you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, put me to death. because i think then her lawyer will say see how mentally ill she is? you can't possibly do it. >> psychologically what that's going to do to the jury as well. we've heard so much from jodi. we've started to hear from the family members of the victim. are there mitigating factors substantial enough to sway the jury towards leniency? >> well, it a tough case for leniency.

does she have anything worth saving, you know, her artwork, the fact she was once a cuddly baby, the fact she may well have been kind to people in her life, might she sincerely apologize today, she was abused as a child. the question is will it make a dent in the 29 stab wounds, slit throw ear to ear, gunshot to the face after travis was dead, lies to the cops, lies to try to cover for herself and then lies to the jury and falsely accusing travis of being a pedophile. even if they think there's some mitigation here, it like throwing a grasshopper at an elepha elephant. it won't likely make a difference on the ultimate question is this the kind of person who deserves to die because if anybody does, it's jodi arias. >> and even if the jury gives

her the death penalty, there's an ought mat being appeal that her attorneys are already working on. >> we might not see the death penalty if they vote for it for 10 or 15 years. who know what is could happen to the death penalty in arizona between now and then. so the strategy will be in part just to delay things, just keep delay, delay, delay, more appeals and she'll have lots of chances for that. but what she has going for her, which i think shouldn't be something she has going for her is what she looks like. she looks like a sweet, well spoken young woman and we don't connect that to the kind of scary killer that we're so afraid of we don't ever want them to walk free again. i think the jury has come around to seeing her as a psycho path frankly because there has been nothing redeeming about her activity either during the crime, after the crime or during the trial. even if she says i'm so sorry, which she should say, i'm sorry i lied, i'm sorry about everything, please spare my

life, i don't think they're going buy it. >> it's one of the contradictory hooks that's gotten everybody so involved in this, and she seems to have gotten away with a lot in her life by talking her way out of it. wendy, thanks so much. the white house begins to fight back. spokesman dan pfeiffer on all five sunday shows calling the behavior of the irs inexcusable. up next we'll talk to senator johnny iiz isaacson. the day my doctor told me i had diabetes, i remember thinking there's a lot i have to do... check my blood sugar, eat better. start insulin. today i learned there's something i don't have to do anymore.

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the white house in crisis management mode. senior adviser dan pfeiffer hit all five sunday talk shows yesterday defending the administration calling accusations of mismanagement

offensive and absurd. >> we've seen this play book from the republicans before. what they want to do when they're lacking a positive agenda is try to drag washington into a swamp of partisan fishing expeditions, trumped up hearings and false allegation. we're not going to let that happen. the president has business to do for the american people. >> republican leaders are piling on to criticize the administration and its handling of all the controversies that have cropped up in the last week. >> there is a culture of intimidation throughout the administration. the irs is just the most recent example. what we're talking about here is an attitude that the government knows best. the nanny state is to tell us what we do. if you criticize, you get targeted. >> this morning they're claiming they don't have all the fact. >> i think it's highly unlikely that a couple of people in cincinna cincinnati decided this was

going to be the policy of the federal government. i think it's even more unlikely when the irs commissioner knew this a year ago that somehow nobody else knew higher than him. >> joining me now, republican senator johnny isakson of georgia, a member of the senate finance committee. i just want to show everybody this new poll out by cnn that shows after the really horrible week for the president, 53% of americans say they still approve the job he's doing and that's up 2 points from the last poll taken in april. that same poll showed the issues, the irs, benghazi and the a.p. story are important to americans but if this drags on, do you think republicans are in danger of overplaying their hand? >> not on the irs scandal. i think the irs scandal is real. schulman was a bush appointee at the beginning, steven miller, an obama appointee. mr. pheiffer yesterday on all the sunday shows abhorred the

abuse of the irs and said he wants to get to the bottom of it. i think you have a bipartisan focus on seeing the irs reigned in, finding out who knew, when they knew and how high it went. >> you told a convention on friday that the irs must be brought to its knees. your committee is going to question the acting irs commissioner steven miller tomorrow. how far are you willing to go? are you more concerned with trying to get lois lerner, who was in charge of -- the director of the tax exempt status, trying to get her in front of you to ask her questions over what her section of the irs is doing? >> i think miss lerner and miss ingram are going to have to come before the committee. tomorrow we'll have mr. schulman, mr. george, mr. miller. i think all the people who knew or should have known need to come before the committee, tell us what they did know, try and lead us on the path that gets us to the original authorization for the violation of the civil

rights or the privacy, if you will, of these taxpayers in america. >> sir, democratic representative kay hagan was on "morning joe this morning." take a listen. >> one thing i'm focused on is jobs. some of our counties have 17% unemployment rate. we have to come together, democrats and republicans, take action, work together, negotiate, take difficult votes but get it done. >> there is a report out today that a house immigration deal has been reached. do you know anything about that? do you expect the senate immigration bill to potentially come out of committee this week? >> it's supposed to come out at the end of this week or at the very latest the beginning of the first week of june when we come back. there have been eight days of amendment and eight days of debate. i expect it to be on the floor in the middle of june in the united states senate. >> when you vote for it?

>> when i see all the bill and all the amendments, i'll make up my mind when i know the totality of the program. >> what's the biggest sticking point for you of what you know of what the gang of eight has already done? >> they've done a great job on border security, but we've got to make sure the american people appreciate the security that's put in the bill so they know we're not doing a ronald reagan all over again where we grant somebody the ability to stay in america and then 8 million more or 10 million more come because 3 million were let in. we've got to be sure our border is secure and as bullet proof as it can possibly be so the way to come to america is the right way and the legal way. >> i want to talk to you about gun violence in the country and gun reform and the appetite for that on the hill. democrats are proposing a bill to introduce guns with personalization technology, guns that can only be used by their owners. are republicans working on any common sense legislation that might meet on par with what the democrats can agree to? >> i am not but i can only

answer for myself. up might talk to pat twomey. since we had the debate of three or four weeks ago, there has been very little discussion in our caucus and i'm not sure but probably the democratic caucus as well. >> senator isakson, thank you for your time today. i really do appreciate it. >> thank you, thomas. >> a new york city man is shot point blank. it's one of several hate crimes this month in new york city. what's behind the increase in violence anti-gay attacks? >> and a search is on for a firefighter who went missing in a massive condo complex blaze. hey! did you know that honey nut cheerios has oats that can help lower cholesterol? and it tastes good? sure does! wow. it's the honey, it makes it taste so... well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? be happy. be healthy.

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injuries. oklahoma's governor is visiting the hardest hit area, including the town of shawnee where a person was killed in a mobile home yesterday. >> a march is planned later today here in new york city in memory of the victim of a vicious hate crime. police say mark carson was shot and killed at point blank range early saturday morning by a man who shouted anti-gay slurs at him. a suspect was chased down by police and arrested. this took place in greenwich village, not far from the legendary stone wall in, which is considered by the birth place of the gay rights movement in 1969. place say saturday's shooting is at least the fifth anti-gay attack in new york this month. it is the first deadly attack. police also say it is the 22nd hate crime in new york this year. that's compared to 13 at this point last year. joining me is activist and writer for the new yorker magazine.

we talk more about this case. police are saying there's this possible link between saturday's shooting and another recent attack here in new york. what's your assessment of the rash of why we're witnessing five in just the last month? >> you saw on that graphic that in fact in new york hate games against gay people are up. there are some people who believe when issues like gay rights are in the news like they have been recently, the recent supreme court arguments and so forth, that people who are, you know, inclined to perpetrate violence against gays and lesbians that that brings out this level of hatred. and just being in the news may bring it on. but there are others who believe that sometimes these cases are not reported, that they're very hard to track and that it may not be an actual uptick so much as just that there's more reporting. but clearly this case in greenwich village this weekend, three blocks from where i live, is very serious, very troubling. i mean, this kind of thing is not supposed to happen anywhere,

but it's very shocking to happen in new york and in greenwich village. >> christine quinn responded by saying the city has moved on from a time when same-sex couples cannot walk down the street without fear and harassment. we refuse to go back to that time. we've seen marriage equality in the state of new york and blossoming in 11 other states around the country with more states to come. just because the states and country might be moving forward after the supreme court comes back at the end of june with the advancement of gay rights, it doesn't mean homophobia will end. >> that's right. there's still lots of bigotry and violence every day everywhere, including in places like new york. and that we can't become too

complacent around issues like this. and i think that some of the debate, i mean, you know, people in washington and in other state capitals that are debating issues of gay rights, they have to remember that when they oppose -- when they oppose civil rights protection for lbgt americans, i know that they're not, you know, nobody supports violence but when they oppose basic civil rights protections, these people are getting their ideas from somewhere and it is very scary that someone would take ideas they hear in the media or on television or on popular culture and take them as an excuse to perpetrate license against citizens. >> if we're reading sea change, could we logically see reaction to what the supreme court does this summer and possibly an uptick in more of think? >> and in fact in california, police departments in california are -- want an advanced word on what that supreme court decision is going to be because they are afraid that either way there

could be some violence. so, you know, in the civil rights struggles in the 60s when the court issued some of its most important civil rights issues decisions, there were protests and there may be violence. >> richard, as always, great to have you here. i appreciate your insight and making time for me on a monday. >> republicans in virginia back a conservative candidate who once compared planned parenthood to the kkk. and with all the coverage of the irs scandal, what important issues are not getting the attention they rightly deserve? our agenda panel will weigh in on both stories coming up after the break. plus a dramatic stunt gone wrong. did you see this at last night's american bill board awards? singer miguel injuring two fans. we'll show it to you again and again and again. some brokerage firms are. but way too many aren't. why? because selling their funds makes them more money. which makes you wonder -- isn't that a conflict?

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what's been left unsaid surrounding the irs scandal? are republicans in danger of overreaching and unfinished business in congress. those are the top stories flagged for us by today's panel of writers covering progressive topics. it's great to have you all here. as we talk about what's not happening in washington d.c., the one thing that i do want to get everybody on the record for is what's happening with the tea party and the irs. it's still a really big story and the mother jones article that i want to focus on is titled "actually, tea party groups gave the irs lots of good reasons to be interested." monica, let me start with you on this. is this really the interesting part here that schulman, who was a bush appointee, might have been looking at tea party groups because of what it might have done to the republican party at the time? in the future of what we're seeing now, basically

splintering the foundation of the republican side. >> the interesting thing, thomas, i think is one of the things that happens when you apply for nonprofit status is that you're looking for a subsidy from the taxpayers, right? you're not paying certain taxes, you're exempt from -- you collect tax exempt donations. so these tea party groups were looking for a subsidy from the taxpayers and there were a lot of these kinds of groups springing up at the time because, as you say, of the kind of fracturing of the party and the emergence of this movement. as always happens in a boom time some of these were not really -- didn't really have any business being charities. they might have been, you know, run by campaign operatives who really had completely political motives at heart, some of them were run by people who were basically seeking to make money off of the passions of conservative voters and so, you know, even though political targeting is always wrong no

matter who is at the other end of it, and mother johns was at the othernd of it under reagan, it's also wrong not to be investigating groups that are asking for something from the rest of us. >> as americans, we all pull together on our collective disdain of the irs. we had senator isakson on talking about the fact that steven miller will testify before their senate committee last week. miller was taken to task after being ousted from his role. the white house's chief lawyer learned weeks ago that employees inappropriately targeted groups. is there enough of a fire wall for the president and those

direct li under him to say they were unaware of this up until they learned about it in the media? >> well, i think you were going to take that one. >> i'm sorry. i think republicans are going to keep pushing. they want to find out as much as they can. they're not going to stop until they're absolutely satisfied that the president and his senior aides and handlers were not aware of this. i think you're going to see a lot more of that. while they do this republicans, at least the leadership of the party, wants to be very, very careful not to be seen as running wild with this and overreaching. a cnn poll yesterday found that most americans don't believe they are overreaching but it's also not clear if while this is happening the more conservative members of the party will be able to help themselves. just last week you had michelle ba bachmann possibly impeaching the

president over there. and rand paul believes there's a dock throughout that shows the irs staffers were told to target people who opposed the president. so it's not clear now exactly who knew what and republicans are going to try to find out. >> can we show that cnn poll really fast? i asked the senator with overreach moments ago. president obama's favorability at 53%. it's basically unchanged since april. do republicans run the risk of trying to overplay this until facts properly emerge? we heard from a lot of elected leaders coming out trying to throw peoplend the bus but saying we still wait for the facts. >> this is the fundamental dilemma the republicans have been facing is that the party base has moved so far to the right that the extremes are really out there. and so it's easy in riling up

the base, it's easy to go too far and alienate people who are moderate voters, who are regular conservative voters but who just think some of the stuff is out of line. >> meanwhile there is this other guy emerging that has gotten a lot of people's attention, it's e.w. jackson, the african-american minister who just won the gop nomination for lieutenant governor of virginia. i want to play what he had to say just recently about what he thinks about homosexuality in the country. >> planned parenthood has been far more lethal to black lives than the kkk ever was and the democrat party and their black civil rights allies are partners in this genocide. >> he's also gone on to say abo homosexuality. he said it's a horrible sin and he calls democrats slave

masters. how is he doing? is he going to do well in virginia when he's got this as his foundational launching pad? >> i would highly doubt that. he said a number of really off-the-wall things. i think you had a really good sample of those. this is kind of a democrats' dream come true because the candidate at the top of their ticket is very flawed. this is the perfect sort of thing they can point to and tell voters you better get out there and vote or this is who you're going to be led by. >> is he really somebody who can get attention? when people start to look and evaluate what this person mearns being elected in the state of virginia, who is rallying for his support? >> it's an african-american candidate for government and shows two things, they are really extreme and off the wall and where anyone in their right mind would say that is way beyond where regular folks are at but at the same time it shows that the tea party and the

extreme wing is going to go after and try and recruit african-americans, black folks, latinos in the case of immigration reform. as we watch them go more extreme, it's a call for democrats and republicans to stick to the core issues our constituencies care about. the first scandal was a strategy to pay attention to the irs, a.p., benghazi when the real issues that are still important to constituencies, especially african-americans, latino, the base of the democratic party, immigration reform is getting stuck in the house. this is a way to get off of that. there's been a spate of shootings in new orleans on mother's day, just this weekend in chicago. we've really got to do a good job of sticking back to those issues and making some difference. those are the ones that the republican party and especially their extremists have not only walked away from, whether it be

gun control, immigration reform in florida they just denied medicaid expansion to a million disproportionately minority citizens. we need to get back to that. as they go extreme, we need to hit on the issues important to our people. >> our agenda panel today, thanks so much. thanks to all three of you. i appreciate your time. >> thanks, thomas. >> here's a quick look at some of the stories topping the news now. in texas emergency responders are searching for a firefighter apparently trapped while battling a six-alarm blaze. here in the northeast crews are working to rebuild 2,000 feet of track after a train derailed and crashed into another train in connecticut on friday.

72 people were hurt, some are still hospitalized. >> so that was a combo of cheers and then some boos for justin bieber at the bill board music awards where he claims he's an artist and should be taken seriously. then there was this, another wild moment featuring singer miguel, coming up short on a jump, landing on an audience member's neck. apparently she walked away and she's doing just fine and he hit his high note. >> some of you are graduating suma cum laude, some of you are graduating magna cum laude. i know some of you are just graduating thank you laude. >> i was definitely a thank you lordy. we'll have more of the president's moving address

coming up. one outspoken critic of the president was invited, disinvited and then invited again. he'll be my guest coming up in three minutes. produce delivery. [ bjorn ] just put it on my spark card. [ garth ] why settle for less? ahh, oh! [ garth ] great businesses deserve unlimited rewards. here's your wake up call. [ male announcer ] get the spark business card from capital one and earn unlimited rewards. choose double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase every day. what's in your wallet? [ crows ] now where's the snooze button?

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and i will tell you, class of 2013, whatever success i have achieved, whatever positions of leadership i have held have depended less on ivy league degrees and s.a.t. scores and depended more on empathy for people who haven't had the opportunities i have. because there but for the grace of god go i. i might have been in prison, i might have been unemployed, i may not have been able to support a family and that motivates me. >> president obama making history at morehouse college as the first african-american president to deliver a commencement address to a

graduating class of all male african-americans. but it was not without controversy. the day before his address, an outspoken critic of the president, pastor kevin johnson was invited, disinvited and reinvited again. he led the class in prayer. >> a time like this demands strong minds, great hearts, truth faith and ready hands. leaders like martin and malcolm, like sojourner and tubman, like washington and due boys, like gandhi and mandela and, yes, god, even leaders like our beloved president barack hussein obama. >> reverend johnson joins me now. i want to start with the fact that you praised the president there along with other important african-american leaders but the controversy over your speaking at morehouse stemmed from the scathing editorial you penned in the "philadelphia tribune." i want to show a part of it. you said in sum "when one

compares the first african-american president to his recent predecessor, the number of african-americans in senior cabinet positions is very disappointing." sir, do you still stand by that criticism of the president today? >> well, when you look at it, anthony fox, the mayor of charlotte has now moved forward and he's about to be nominated and has been nominated for the secretary position of transportation. when you look at that, we are starting to see some progress. the facts are the facts. 7, 4, 1 but now you can say 7, 4, 2. i do applaud the press. i'm a supporter of the president, i'm not a critic. the reality is when you look at what's happening with african-american, we have to be more vigilant. just because we voted does not mean we do not have a voice.

>> i want to play a portion of what he had to say. take a look. >> he said nobody's going to pity you, nobody's going to feel as if that your hardships matter a whole lot, you have to pull yourself up and you have to work hard. that was his message today. and it is a great message. he's been a great message and he sounded just like a morehouse man today. >> what's your reaction, sir, to the president's message, what he offered there, the leadership vision that he might have cast? >> first of all, let me thank president wilson and morehouse college for the invitation to speak at my alma mater. the clip you played earlier was from the prayer i made last year. saturday i preached a message called "dare to be an eagle" because that's what morehouse men did. i was there on stage and i heard president obama speak. he's a gifted orator, he definitely connected with the african-american community and particularly african-american males. i think it was more of a family

speech. it's something that i would share with my 12-year-old son, miles, who was there with me and who was there watching the graduates of 500 black men come into the grounds for graduation. it was great. but at the same time you have to ask the question should we have kept this in a kind of closed door kind of setting? particularly when some of the things that were played out and as i look at the headlines that are out there, you do have to raise the question should we have talked about this more in a closed setting versus something in an open setting? i do think the president is right, we do have to take responsibility, our young men do have to hold themselves accountable, but at the same time the larger community of america thinks that people are not responsible, that african-american men are not responsible and this is morehouse. it is the black harvard. and so these are men who are already taking responsibility, already who are leaders and who are already going to do great things in life. >> reverend kevin johnson, thank you, sir, for making time for

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the u.s. supreme court on the verge of two major decisions, dealing with racial discrimination in the country. in the coming weeks, affirmative action programs at the nation's public colleges and universities could be uprooted and a federal statute that guards against discrimination in state and local voting procedures could be weakened. joining me is ary melberg, host of msnbc's "the cycle." it's a pleasure to have you here away from those cyclists, this way you can talk on your own. court is soon going to rule on this suit brought by a ut austin student, abigail fisher. she claims she was rejected from the university at the same time that the candidates with less impressive academic records were

admitted. what signals is the court giving in vetting this. >> the signal is that the court is likely to take some sort of skeptical view of affirmative action and rule in some way on her side. we don't know what they'll do until they do it we do know they chose to hear this case less than a decade after the previous affirmative action case, which upheld the pramts, and a skeptical ruling could narrowly or broadly knock down afirm tiff action. >> in 2003, a rm toer justice sandra day o'connor said the court expected the use of racial preferences would no longer be used. meanwhile, the number of minority students enrolled in college has climbed by 20% since 1980. is it true that if we take supervision away from this, that we can see the fact that america has changed? or is it that we need this supervision to make sure that america has changed. >> i think we need it.

think to your point, the justice roberts quote is so interesting because this is where the debate has moved on these programs. originally we remember it was states rights versus human rights on a lot of these race questions and the law. today what the conservative justices have increasingly said in other cases where we do know their outcomes, they've said any use of race is bad. and that's not been the progressive view, which has said that no you can constructively use race. for example, as one factor among several to insure diversity in a student body or diversity in government. diversity in leadership. that's really where this goes. the conservatives have seized the mantle of zero tolerance. >> same thing goes with the justices considering whether the voting rights act of 1965 designed to prevent discrimination against minority in certain states can be uprooted. that formula changed. but as we witnessed in 2012, the issue with voter i.d. laws and the problems that were happening around the country, it seems as if the onus is on keeping a law

like this in place. >> exactly. what we've seen from the conservatives is the idea that it's been long enough and black turnout has gone high enough, which was mentioned in oral arguments that we don't need this any more. that is just as a logical point, a weird argument, right? if you use your seat belt every day and that keeps you safe, that doesn't necessarily mean that you should stop using your seat belt after a certain amount of time. and so these programs particularly section 5 of the voting rights act, doesn't prevent anyone from getting their rights, it doesn't have a cost on the other side. all it says is if certain areas that have discriminated in the past, if they want to make changes, they have to be precleared by the doj. so a lot of house support it, myself included, feel it is a fairly low-cost way to make sure people's rights are afforded to them. >> we haven't seen anything move, you think it's going to come out one big day at the end, they surprise us all. >> big cases tend to come at the end, we'll see it in a couple of weeks. that's going to wrap things up for me, see you back tomorrow

at 11:00 a.m. eastern. ezra klein, and maria theresa kumar will be here, and "now" with alex wagner comes here next. she has left the building and taken it to d.c. >> the bird has flown, hello, thomas, we are live in washington, d.c. today. where president obama is weathering storms from the sky and on capitol hill. we'll discuss the white house's rebuttal to the irs controversy and the gop's creative interpretation of the facts. with robert gibbs, ryan grimm, nia malika henderson and ary shapiro. and while the beltway fixates on the "s" word, lawmakers move forward on comprehensive legislation reform. and virginia becomes the latest ground zero for the culture wars, we'll look at the gop's incendiary new nominee for lieutenant governor, and the tea party's deepening hold on the state. all of that is coming up next. vo: traveling you definitely end up meeting a lot more people but

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> storm clouds over washington, both literal and figurative. it is monday, may 20th, and this is "now." republicans are channeling a version of rahm emanual and not letting a good controversy go to waste. after thus far failing to find a direct connection between president obama and the irs, in the agency's targeting of conservative groups, some republicans have started pulling on loose threads in the hopes of unwinding the administration. "the new york times" reports that the white house chief counsel learned about the investigation into the irs last month. weeks before president obama said he found out about it from the media. this morning, republican senator roy blount used the information to summon his best version of television indignation. >> last month